S Royster Contemplating More Visits

Brian Dohn

08/17/2010

JERSEY CITY, N.J. -- St. Peter's Prep safety Sheldon Royster made a few visits ove the summer, and he said he may see Miami, Michigan and Rutgers again before the month ends. ScarletReport.com was at a Marauders practice Monday, and as our series continues of profiling the athletes and the program, the 6-foot, 195-pound Royster spoke about his recruitment.

JERSEY CITY, N.J. -- Sheldon Royster made a few visits during the summer, including one to Rutgers in late June, and he is hoping to make at least three more before his season begins.

Miami and Michigan are on his list of schools the St. Peter's Prep (Jersey City, N.J.) safety would like to see, but a third school is one with which he is already familiar. And the third one is also a school Royster knows will make his cut when he trims his list in the near future.

"A couple that I know? Well, Rutgers is definitely one of them," Royster said after a Monday practice. "I haven't been up there in a while, so hopefully I'll go up there one of these weekends and see how things are going."

"I plan to visit Miami and hopefully, Michigan, before the end of this month," Royster said. "I'm trying to get a couple more visits done before the season starts. In my possession, I have 14 offers. People tell me I have more, but I don't know. I don't know the exact number."

Royster acknowledged the time is coming for schools to be cut, but with training camp now open and the Sept. 11 season-opener against St. Joe's of Philadelphia at Rutgers Stadium on the horizon, his attention is diverted.

"I'm trying to (trim the list), but I'm more focused on the season than I am recruiting right now," he said. "I'm kind of still open, but I'm slowly narrowing things down."

Royster has long voiced his interest and affection for Rutgers when speaking to ScarletReport.com, and nothing has changed.

"Everything is pretty much still the same," Royster said. "They're still showing me the same amount of love that they had been when I was up there, and they're still recruiting me pretty hard. I haven't lost interest, and I don't think they've lost interest, either."

One of the interesting aspects is where Royster will play.

As a junior, he made 65 tackles and intercepted three passes. He also averaged 9.83 yards per carry (40 rushes, 393 yards) and scored five touchdowns backing up five-star running back Savon Huggins, caught 14 passes for 252 yards (18 ypc) and scored on a kickoff return. He also returns punts for the Marauders.

So, does Royster have a position of preference?

"Not really," he said. "As long as I can get on the field and go out and compete. I pretty much never had a set position, so I love them all. Anywhere I can get the ball in my hands or go tackle somebody, I like them all."